Exchanging Rooms
by Victoria May
Summary: Jim and Blair are on the TV show Exchanging Rooms


DISCLAIMER: The Sentinel and its characters belong to PetFly Productions. This story was written for entertainment purposes only-no profit is being made. Exchanging Room is based on 'Trading Spaces' and the multitude of similar designer shows being televised today (I don't think there is a show by this exact title-if there is, it belongs to someone else and no infringement intended.   
RATING: G  
WARNINGS: None  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I have no idea why I wrote this. I was watching Trading Spaces and imagined Jim and Blair participating. This is not how I normally view the guys, but I thought, why not? Overall, I'd have to say the story is pretty pointless, but I was attacked by a muse and I haven't written anything in a while, so this is what you get. =)  
FEEDBACK: As this is different than my normal angst-fests, I'd love to know what you think. Public or private to voria@charter.net.  
SUMMARY: Jim and Blair are on the show Exchanging Rooms.  
  
  
Exchanging Rooms  
By: Victoria May  
  
"How did I let him talk me into this?" Jim growled as he tore at the paneling along the walls.  
  
"Now, come on Jim. It's not that bad, and besides, he'll be doing just as much work as you are in a couple of days," the interior decorator assured the cranky detective.  
  
"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Jim grumbled as he tore down another panel. He grimaced as he thought of his overly rambunctious roommate tearing his room apart and turning it into a hippie's paradise. His mind was flooded with wild colors, strings of beads, and small statues of wide-eyed gods and goddesses scattered throughout his room.  
  
The decorator looked up at her companion and let her eyes roam across his broad chest and down his muscular arms. "Don't tell me you can't handle a little hard work Jim?" she teased as she turned back to the wall she was working on.  
  
"No!" Jim denied quickly. "I can handle the work. I'm just afraid of what I'm going to find when I go upstairs in four days," Jim explained, his voice thick with dread.  
  
"Don't worry detective. We won't let him go too overboard," the decorator promised, before stifling an evil laugh.  
  
Jim glared and finished tearing the last of the paneling off the wall. "Now what?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"Well, you said Blair's an academic. A teacher," the decorator clarified.  
  
"Grad student," Jim corrected. "He's a TA-does all the grunt work for the professors. Proctors exams, corrects assignments, teaches labs. He's working on his doctoral dissertation. He rides along with me and helps out at the PD-research," Jim explained quickly, seeing the inquiring look on the decorator's face.   
  
The woman nodded and leaned against the stripped wall. "So he's pretty busy. I assume he's not going to want to get rid of any of his things?" she asked, gesturing towards the full living room.  
  
"No," Jim answered with finality.   
  
"Okay. So our mission is to create a space to not only store, but accentuate his belongings. That's going to take a lot of work," she added, her eyes drawn back to the large pile of books and artifacts in the sunny outer room.   
  
"Light," Jim added in a serious tone.  
  
"Light. That's going to take some work as well. Obviously this room doesn't get much natural light. We'll install lighting that's not only bright enough for him to work here, but is as close to natural as an artificial light source can get."  
  
Jim sighed as the front door opened and light footsteps hurried across the wooden floor. "So how're we doing in here?" Teri, the hostess of Exchanging Rooms asked brightly.  
  
The decorator, Connie, pasted on an equally bright smile as she answered, "Well, we've got the walls stripped, and moved all the furniture out. We're brainstorming a plan right now-we'll be installing shelving units, probably to the ceiling as well as a large work area. I'm thinking that will cover two of the walls easily. Being an anthropologist, Blair has many artifacts to display, so we'll also be putting up a shelf that runs around the entire room, about a foot from the ceiling. For lighting, we'll be installing track lighting that will be hidden from view above the shelf. We'll also have separate lights focused on the work area as well as above the bed."  
  
Jim stared at the small decorator in disbelief. When had they decided any of this?  
  
"Jim? You're looking a bit lost here. Everything okay?" the hostess asked with feigned concern.   
  
"Ah, just a bit overwhelmed," Jim sputtered, still staring at the decorator.  
  
"Great!" the enthusiastic hostess chirped. "I'll let you two get back to your work and check back in about two hours." A receding clatter of footsteps and the two were again alone.  
  
Before Jim could say anything, Connie had his arm and was turning him to face the wall. "What I need you to do right now, is fill in all the holes in the walls and ceiling and scrape away any uneven edges. When you're done, we'll get started on painting."  
  
"Painting?" Jim echoed.  
  
Connie kneeled at his feet and tapped a can of paint. "Paint. Blair likes nature, specifically jungle regions, South American if I remember correctly. I'd go with a dark green, but to be honest, this room just isn't large enough. We need to expand the room visually, so we're going to go with a soothing pale beige for the walls and ceiling. We'll use deeper greens and reds for accent."  
  
Jim stood and stared down at the little woman who had blown into his home and taken over. He mindlessly wrapped his fingers around the plastic tool that Connie shoved into his hand.   
  
"Move it Jim! We've got lots of work to do before our two days are up. You get started here and I'm going outside to talk to Jerry about plans for the shelves and work area." Connie pushed the silent man back towards the wall and smiled as he began to soundlessly fill in the gaping holes.  
  
Two hours later, Teri was back and exclaiming quite vibrantly about how great the room was looking. The walls and ceiling were now a soothing beige and the doors and window a rust red. "Ooohhh! This looks great! Okay guys, what's next?" she coaxed, as she leaned against Jim's back, her arm slung over his shoulder.   
  
Connie wiped her speckled hands on a rag and then pulled out a rolled up set of plans for the small room. "I've got Jerry out there building the workspace. It's going to run along this entire wall . . ." she gestured at the wall bordering the dining room. "There'll be drawers running down here and here," she said pointing to where the ends of the workspace would be. "Narrow shelves will be built up the wall in the same places. I don't want to crowd the window too much, as it's a natural focal point. It's going to be as open as possible, as not to suffocate poor Blair," Connie cooed.   
  
Jim rolled his eyes. Obviously, his roommate had worked his charms on the decorator. Jim now feared more for his own space than before. Blair would have this lady eating out of his hands. Jim turned his attention back to the woman who was now gesturing wildly towards the next wall.  
  
"Jerry's building a set of built in bookshelves that will extend the entire length of that wall-but, they won't be extending to the ceiling like I'd previously said. They'll reach the same level as the shelf so there's still room to display the artifacts and install the lighting. Along the top of the bookshelves, there'll be doors for private storage. The work area and the shelves will be painted burnt umber and detailed with vines and jungle flowers. The drawers and cabinet doors will be a matching deep forest green. The bed will go back under the outside window." Connie stopped and looked at the last wall.  
  
"And there," she said pointing, "Will sit the dresser. I picked it up at an estate sale for a bargain. That'll be your homework tonight Jim. Stripping off the old finish and giving it a fresh coat of paint. That should keep you busy for awhile. But before then, we've got to install the running lights and the shelf. So, let's get back to work!" Connie coached.  
  
"Great work guys. I'm going to go check in with Jerry and see how the work area and bookshelves are coming," Teri said as she escaped once again.  
  
So Jim labored painstakingly, and the shelf and the lights went up as professionally as possible. After arguing with Connie over how to position the lights, he had them where he wanted them-where they'd give his friend and guide the maximum amount of light possible. Finding themselves ahead of schedule, Jim began to strip the dresser. He worked diligently, not complaining or whining. He knew the room was going to look good. He could imagine Blair's face as the younger man saw the finished room for the first time. He'd smile and clap Jim on the back and tease him about working too hard. Before he knew it, the dresser was ready for its first coat of paint.  
  
As he was gathering his supplies, Connie stopped him. "Not so fast Jim. We've still got pillow covers to make. Right now, Blair has quite the eclectic mix of styles and designs. We're going to make covers to give the bed a more uniformed look. Since he already has a patterned spread, we're going to use solid colors for the pillows, again sticking to our color scheme. So red, green, browns, dark yellows and blues. Got it? I've set up a sewing machine out in the living room so you can get started right away."  
  
Jim stared at the decorator. "I don't sew," he stated firmly.  
  
"Don't worry Jim. It's not that hard. And you don't want to disappoint Blair by not having the room done on time, are you?" Connie asked, her eyes twinkling.  
  
Grimacing, Jim started for the living room. The decorator hit him right where it hurt. Of course he didn't want to disappoint Blair and the little woman knew it. Jim growled quietly at the back of his throat as he watched Connie demonstrate how to use the machine. When she stood, he took the seat, and with his usual single-minded determinism, set to work. He could hear Connie's laughter as she made her way back down to the street where Jerry was still working on the cabinets.  
  
The light was fading outside the balcony windows when he finally finished. Eager to see the results, Jim began to stuff the tattered pillows into their new homes. Scattering the collection on the couch in the living room, Jim stood back to admire his handiwork. He flinched and then blushed deeply as a sharp whistle disturbed his contemplation.  
  
"Wow Jim! Connie told us you couldn't sew. These look awesome!" Teri cheered. Jim clenched his jaw as he watched the tall, slender hostess pick up each pillow, and manhandle it. He could see the smudges of natural oils and the faint residue of sawdust she left behind on each masterpiece. He was going to have to sponge wash each pillow before Blair saw the room.   
  
"Connie and Jerry are on their way up with the pieces to the work area. You guys are amazing. You're way ahead of schedule." Teri giggled. "But somehow, I don't think Connie's going to let you get away with no homework."  
  
Jim scowled. "No, I didn't think so," he agreed.  
  
Just then, the loft door opened and a tall, well-muscled man backed in carrying one end of a long counter top. Connie was grasping the other end. Jim went to the hallway to retrieve the drawer units. Jerry anchored the drawer units to the wall and the worktop was heaved up to rest over them and anchored as well. Then the small shelving units were installed on either side of the window.   
  
Jim surveyed the piece and nodded his satisfaction.   
  
"Impressed, huh buddy?" Jerry asked, slapping Jim on the shoulder.   
  
"Looks good," Jim grudgingly allowed.  
  
"Yeah. Well, I've gotta get back to work on the bookshelves," the larger man said as he hurried out of the loft.   
  
Connie turned to Jim. "Jim, your homework tonight is this: paint the dresser as well as the workspace. Remember the color scheme. We're ahead of schedule here, so that's it. Have a good night," Connie said.   
  
"I need sandpaper," Jim commented stepping towards the newly installed unit.   
  
"Sandpaper?" Connie asked, confused. "Why?"  
  
"I used all mine on the dresser, and this unit has a few edges that I want to go over," Jim instructed.   
  
Jim ignored the incredulous look he received from Connie and turned towards the workspace. "Could I have some sandpaper-please?" he asked again. "Medium and fine," he added.  
  
The women trailed out of the room and Jim ran his hand over the new worktop. Frowning, he knew he had a lot of work ahead of him.  
  
Jim snacked on leftovers in the refrigerator as he went on with his meticulous work. As the sun rose over the horizon, Jim stepped back from the work area and smiled. It was perfect. His guide wouldn't need to worry about splinters or getting his raggedy clothing snagged on sharp edges. The colors looked good, he had to admit. And even the freestanding dresser melded into the room with ease.   
  
Jim was soon joined by the cast of Exchanging Rooms and the work began anew. Jerry had worked long into the night to finish the bookshelves and their installation was first on the agenda for the day. The team worked together and before long, the small room had a brand new, stylish focal point.   
  
'He's going to love it,' Jim thought to himself as he admired the simple design. Rather than meet the floor, the bottom was open, allowing room for further storage and easy access to clean. Jim grinned at that little piece of luck. There was nothing worse than smelling mildew or sneezing from accumulating dust in a space that he couldn't reach. The unit had simple shelves interspersed with cubbyholes of varying sizes, completed by the enclosed cabinets along the top. The top of the unit was the same height as the shelf bordering the room and the pieces fit together almost seamlessly. Jim wasn't going to mention the slight gap he could see-he'd fix it later when the he had his life back.   
  
"Thanks Jerry," Connie said, excusing the carpenter. Turning to Jim she said, "Let's get this painted so we can get the cabinet doors on. Soon as that's done, we can start the detail work." Seeing a pained look on Jim's face, she sighed. "Or do you need a few minutes with the shelves?"  
  
Jim grinned and grabbed his leftover sandpaper. It didn't take long to achieve a soft, almost velvety finish. It was worth the few extra minutes of work in an already filled day. Jim retrieved the tube of wood filler from his own stash of woodworking supplies, and filled in the slight gaps where the shelves came together. Perfect. Clearing his throat, he got Connie's attention and she rejoined him in the small room.  
  
Side by side, the pair painted, transforming the small room into an anthropologist's dream bedroom. If Connie minded that Jim went over her work with his own paintbrush, she never said a word. When the shelves were painted, Jim went to work painting the cabinet doors and Connie started on the vine trim. Recalling his time in the jungles of Peru, Jim finished the doors and began to follow behind Connie, adding Peruvian flowers to the jungle vines. Connie only cocked a pretty eyebrow at the stoic man and hid her pleased grin at the man's enthusiasm.   
  
After they completed the circuit across the shelves, Jim pointed towards the shelf running along the ceiling. "Above the shelf," he said.   
  
Connie stared at the small area of wall between the shelf and the ceiling, and nodded. "Sure," she agreed, before heading out to the living room to pull in the painter's ladder. Connie began to paint, creating a much more intricate design of jungle foliage than had been added to the cabinets. Jim let her work her way around the room, before claiming the ladder and adding flowers and Chopec symbols. Liking his new brainstorm, Jim finished and added more Chopec symbols to the cabinet doors.   
  
"Looks good Jim," Connie said, gazing at the detective with a new look of adoration and pride. This was going to be an episode to remember. Tough cop turned artiste and she would get all the credit. It didn't hurt that the man was to die for. Nicely toned muscles, the most beautiful piercing blue eyes. He just screamed 'eye candy'. Connie imagined the multitude of letters and emails from viewers, gushing over her ability to get even the most hardened cases to lighten up and create a masterpiece. Her only regret was that she wouldn't be the one to work with the luscious little roommate, Blair.   
  
Turning back to Jim, she guided him into the living room. "Okay Jim. We only have a few more things to do." Reaching down, she pulled up several long, thin boxes and laid them on the coffee table. "These are the window coverings. Bamboo blinds-they're easy to install and will help pull together the jungle theme."  
  
Jim grunted his understanding and went to work installing the blinds on the windows. Connie had been ushered away from the room while Jim worked. He wanted the blinds to hang straight and knew it would bother him to no end if he allowed the woman to hang even one blind crookedly.   
  
Finished with the blinds on the glass doors, Jim joined Connie in the living room. "Next?"  
  
"Next, we hang the lamps over the work area and the bed." Connie held up one of the three upside down cones. It had a long cord trailing from it and Jim grimaced.   
  
"I'll be right back." Jim left the decorator holding the lamp and gawking at the now empty space where he had been standing. Jim trotted down the stairs to the basement and began to flip switches. Satisfied that he wasn't going to electrocute himself, he grabbed his battery operated power saw from his tool area and climbed back to the loft.   
  
"I'll need about an hour," he said going into the empty room. "Help yourself to the coffee while it's still hot," he called out.  
  
Teri came into the spacious loft, followed by Jerry and looked inquisitively at Connie. The small decorator only shrugged and poured a mug full of coffee and settled onto the couch.  
  
"What's he doing?" Jerry asked, helping himself to the coffee as well.  
  
"I think he's wiring the lamps," Connie said, numbly.  
  
The usually ebullient hostess just looked a little lost and sank down beside Connie. The trio waited and listened to the whine of the power saw. After about forty minutes, Jim came to the door of the bedroom.   
  
"Full house," he commented before walking out of the loft. A minute later, appliances hummed to life as power surged through the apartment. Connie pushed off of the couch and walked to the bedroom, followed by her entourage. The three lights hung evenly from the ceiling, not a cord in sight.  
  
"Does he need a job?" Jerry asked, impressed.  
  
Jim stepped up behind them. "Okay, what's next?"  
  
"Well, normally we'd put together wall art, but I don't think that's going to be necessary in this case," Connie said, frowning. "So, let's clean up the room and get the bed moved back in," the decorator said, clapping her hands a little too enthusiastically.  
  
Jim grabbed the broom and set to work sweeping out all the fallen plaster and whatever had found its way to the floor. Connie cleaned the windows and tried to smile when Jim grabbed his own rag and added a little extra shine to the glass.   
  
"Great. Bed," Connie instructed. After dumping the mattress on the floor, Jim and Connie carried the bed in and situated it between the fire escape door and the new bookshelf. They threw on the mattress and Connie waited while Jim adjusted the spread so it lay just so. Jim let Connie arrange the pillows, but moved them as soon as the small woman left the room.   
  
"Almost done Jim," Connie said, smiling at the anal obsessive detective. She thought about the detective's roommate, that sweet college professor. "That poor thing," she murmured when she thought Jim couldn't hear. Jim just rolled his eyes and began to carry in Blair's most precious belongings.  
  
The books went on the shelves first, then the artifacts, followed by Blair's pictures. The laptop was situated just so on the workspace, surrounded by his most important reference books. The dresser was saved for an impressive arrangement of candles and incense. Finally, the walls were decorated by a variety of masks and tribal art. The overall effect was stunning and Jim could almost hear the sounds of the jungle.  
  
"One last thing," Connie said, carrying in a long rolled up bundle. She kneeled and unrolled her cargo. It was a large woven mat and it fit perfectly into the space between the workspace and the bed. It was perfect.  
  
Jim grinned. "It's perfect," he said.  
  
"Finally!" the exasperated, small decorator muttered.   
  
"Oh, it looks so good you two!" Teri squealed as she joined them. "Blair is going to love this," she gushed.  
  
Jim turned and caught her eye knowingly.  
  
Teri blushed. "Er, what do you think Jim? Is your roommate going to like it?" she asked quickly.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure he'll love it Teri," Jim answered, grinning despite himself. He didn't know what strings Blair had pulled to get them a spot on this show, but so far it was turning out okay. Now if only he could stop worrying about what Blair was going to do to his space upstairs.  
  
"Well Jim, you've been a great sport. You not only came in way under-budget with this room, you finished early as well. Are you packed?" Teri asked the exhausted man.  
  
Jim just nodded and wiped at his sweaty forehead.   
  
"Okay, well get out of here then. We'll bring Blair in tomorrow morning, bright and early and we'll see you again the day after that. Get some sleep big guy," Teri said, draping herself over him once again.  
  
Brushing the hostess gently off his side, Jim grabbed his bags from by the front door and trudged out of the loft. He'd spend the next day embroiled in his work, knowing that if he let his mind wander back to the loft, he'd be back just to make sure the kid wasn't destroying anything.   
  
It would be a long two days.  
  
Much to Jim's surprise and delight, a string of armed robberies was committed that night, ensuring he wouldn't want for something to pass the time. And the time passed swiftly. By five o'clock, the night he was to rendezvous back at the loft, he had the chief of police calling to congratulate him on a case well solved and Simon was beaming. After the other detectives finished slapping him on the back, he let his good feelings carry him back to the loft. He refused to let the impending destruction of his beloved loft bring him down.  
  
Before Jim could walk into his loft, he was besieged by his ecstatic guide.   
  
"Jim, man. You are so going to love this! This is so great!"  
  
Jim pried said guide off of him and couldn't help but smile down into the shining face. Feeling it only right, he warned his younger roommate, "I hope so Chief, or you're going to be putting it back the way you found it."  
  
"Chill man. You'll love it. I promise," Blair repeated.  
  
Jim tried to open the door but was stopped by Teri. "Sorry Jim, but you're room is so open, you can't go in until we're all ready."  
  
Jim was disappointed. Despite his own misgivings of how his room turned out, he had really wanted Blair to see his room first. Sighing, Jim looked around. "Well, I'm ready," he said.  
  
"Me too," Blair agreed excitedly.  
  
"Okay Jim. Now remember, Blair worked very hard on your room. No matter what you might think of it, try and be nice," Teri warned.  
  
Jim rolled his eyes. "Can we just get on with it?" he asked plaintively. He didn't need anyone to tell him to be nice to his guide. He'd be nice when he told Blair he hated it.  
  
As Teri approached the door, Jim reached out and grabbed his guide's arm, stilling the nervous movements coming from the more youthful man.   
  
Teri threw the door open and stepped into the loft. Blair dodged in after her and sprinted for the steps. Tina, Blair's co-designer followed. Connie and Jerry stood behind Jim and prodded him forward. Gritting his teeth into a pseudo-smile, Jim slowly entered his home.   
  
So far, so good. No loud colors blinding him. Jim fixed his eyes on his guide and let his face relax into a real smile. Blair was so excited. Jim was sure he'd worked hard and Jim wasn't going to make him feel bad, no matter how much he disliked his room. Joining Blair on the stairs, he began to slowly walk up.  
  
As the room came into view, Jim sucked in his breath. He could feel tension draining out of his muscles that he hadn't known was there. The walls were painted deep beige, not so unlike Blair's. The rich color drew his eyes in and it felt soothing, like a balm. His bed had been moved against the brick wall, facing out, towards the open loft. His metal shelves were gone. A simple storage unit had been built against the only other wall. It was a tone darker than the walls, trimmed with the lighter beige. Two layers of drawers ran along the bottom with enclosed storage shelves above those. An arrangement of candles sat in the middle of the cabinet. Simple matching tables sat on each side of the bed, with a matching color scheme and matching lamps to adorn them. A large potted plant sat next to the stairs and a potted palm tree marked the other edge of the black railing. Nothing sat in front of the black railing to impair his vision from looking out over his domain.   
  
What touched him the most was the simple one tone back drop behind the bed in lieu of a picture that would have had pixels and multitudes of colors and tones a sentinel could get lost in when his senses were haywire.   
  
To anyone else, the room would have been plain and boring. To a sentinel, it was wonderful. The arrangement of the furniture allowed for him to cast his senses out across the loft without hindrance. The generic color soothed rather than hurt his sensitive eyes. The simple furniture hid his clothes and personal belongings, and gave him plenty of storage space in which to organize his things. The lamps were simple, the shades draping down far enough to hide the bright light bulbs.   
  
It was heaven.  
  
"Chief," he finally said. "It's so wonderful. Thank you." Heedless of the prying eyes, he pulled his guide in for a quick hug.   
  
Tina smiled, enchanted at the closeness of the two men. While the room was rather generic, she knew that she and Blair had worked harder then their counterparts had downstairs. Blair hadn't liked any of her ideas and after hours of trying to convince him that her way was the right way, she turned over the reigns to the stubborn young man. He'd dragged Jerry up to the room and explained what he wanted in way of furniture. Unlike Jim and Connie, Blair and Tina had almost gone over budget. The furniture was easy and cheap, but he'd insisted on only a certain type plant for the room. Teri had been given her orders to find this particular tree and plant. It had taken a lot of phone calls to contacts to get just what he wanted and have it delivered by today.   
  
Blair had also made sure that the furniture was sanded many times over and then wiped down with a damp cloth to remove any leftover sawdust. The paint had to be a certain brand, certain ingredients. And there were to be no mistakes. No paint runs, no chipped wood. Only perfection.   
  
Watching the two men together, Tina knew she was right to allow the bossy young man to take control. Maybe it was a health issue, or a mental health issue. Whatever it was, they'd done well.   
  
Jim finished admiring his new room and turned to Blair. "So Chief, you ready to see your room now?"  
  
"Oh yeah, let's go man," Blair exclaimed, rubbing his hands together excitedly. He rushed down the stairs and waited at the doors to his room. He closed his eyes and graciously allowed Teri to lead the way into the room.   
  
"Okay Blair, you can open your eyes," the hostess instructed.  
  
Blair's eyes opened and he gasped in surprise. He took a step and paused when he stepped on the mat. Kneeling, he ran his hand over the woven fibers. He turned to the bed and grabbed one of the pillows, clutching it to his chest. He slowly turned, his eyes taking in every detail. He ran his fingers over the detailed vines, his fingers lingering over one of Jim's flowers. He pulled out his desk chair and sank down at his work area.   
  
"Wow," he gushed quietly. When he finally looked up, his face held the look of astonishment. "You did this for me," he stated, almost to himself.  
  
"Yeah Chief. You like it?" Jim asked, trying to contain the grin that was threatening to break out on his own face.  
  
"Oh yeah. This is-wow! This is so great! Thank you so much Jim," he said, his voice still quiet from awe.   
  
"Well, we did help, a little," Connie said, trying to draw the men's attention.  
  
"Thank you," Blair said, looking at Connie. "Thank you Jim," he said, turning back to his blessed protector.  
  
Teri turned to face the nearest camera. "And there you have it. Another successful episode of Exchanging Rooms. If you'd like to be on our show, write to the address at the bottom of your screen, or go online at ExchangingRooms.com. We'll see you next week with a new episode of Exchanging Rooms."  
  
The cameras were shut off, flood lights dimmed. Connie, Tina, Teri and Jerry piled into the official Exchanging Rooms van and returned to their hotel. Blair and Jim found themselves alone in the loft for the first time in four days.  
  
"You really like it Jim?" Blair asked, as he settled onto the sofa with a bottle of water. He bit nervously at his bottom lip, thinking that Jim had only been acting for the cameras. He braced himself for the truth.  
  
Jim grinned at the worried look on his partner's face. Grabbing his own water, he dropped down next to Blair. "I really liked it," he said.  
  
Blair studied the man next to him. Satisfied that this was the truth, he smiled. "Cool."  
  
"Yeah cool. How 'bout you? Do you really like your room?" Jim asked, suddenly unsure himself.  
  
"Oh man. Of course I love it. I don't think I have enough stuff for all that storage room in there. I'm going to have to bring some stuff home from my office."  
  
Jim groaned and rolled his eyes while Blair chuckled and drank from his water bottle. Settling back onto the sofa, he grabbed the TV remote and flipped it on. "I am so tired. I'm not going to move for the next week," he proclaimed.  
  
Jim grabbed the remote and flipped the TV off. "Oh no you don't," he said, pulling his guide to his feet. "We're not done yet. There's sawdust all over this place. They never said we had to clean up after we were all done," he complained.   
  
"Jim, they did clean. Can they help it if they don't have sentinel senses? Come on man, give me a break. I am so tired. You've had a day at least to relax after doing my room." Blair tried to sink back onto the couch.   
  
Jim pulled him back up. "The sooner we clean, the sooner we finish. Let's just get it out of the way so we can relax."  
  
Blair sighed a long-suffering sigh, and joined his sentinel in the cleaning of the great apartment. Before long, the roommates were back on the couch, their features softly lit by the glow from the TV. Jim smiled as Blair snuffled softly beside him. It hadn't taken long for the younger man to give in to his exhaustion and fall asleep. The older man glanced back at the stairs and grinned.  
  
He'd never really been worried at all.  
  
-END 


End file.
